


Monsterous Visage

by BarPurple



Series: BarPurple's House of Horror 2017 [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Flashbacks, Future Fic, Monsters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-02
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2019-01-08 05:14:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12247722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BarPurple/pseuds/BarPurple
Summary: An elderly Henry recounts the story of how Gold and Belle met to his grandson.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [beastlycheese](https://archiveofourown.org/users/beastlycheese/gifts).



“Gramps? What is this?”

Henry shuffled over to the shelf where his grandson Matt was pointing at an elegantly carved wooden box. It looked familiar, but it took Henry a moment to place it, there were so many antiques and trinkets in the old pawnshop. When the memory came to him he nudged Matt and said; “Pull it out, lad. Pop it on the table and we’ll open it up.”

Matt gave him an excited grin, all of Henry’s grandkids had learned the rules of the pawnshop from a very early age; Rule One – Do NOT touch anything without permission. To be allowed to handle one of the treasures within was a rare treat. With exaggerated care Matt placed the box on the table and stood jiggling from foot to foot as Henry made his way over to the workbench and eased himself into the leather chair. He really need to book an appointment at the hospital to get his knees recalibrated again. 

Henry ran his fingers of the edge of the box, “Now are you sure you want to see what’s in here Matt? It’s a little bit gruesome.”

Matt raised his eyebrows and gave Henry a look; “Come on Gramps I’m ten. I can handle gruesome.”

He twisted out from under Henry’s hand as Henry ruffled his hair. The bravery of youth, had he ever been that bold when he was Matt’s age? 

“Okay, okay. You ready?”

Matt nodded eagerly and Henry slowly slipped the catch and lifted the lid of the box. Inside on a bed of blue crushed velvet lay the clawed foot of a cockerel.

“Eugh! Gross! Can I touch it?”

“No, best that you don’t lad.”

“Why do you have a severed turkey foot?”

Henry laughed, he could see why Matt thought it was a turkey, it was six inches long from the tip of the claw to the severed ankle joint.

“It’s a cockerel foot and it was your Great-Great-Grandma Belle’s.”

Matt bounced away from the workbench towards the kitchen, waving a hand at his Gramps; “Hang on I’ll get us some drinks and then you can tell me the story.”

“How do you know there’s a story.”

His grandson paused by the door; “Gramps, everything in this shop has a story and this one will be even cooler because it about family.”

Gramps’ chuckle followed him into the kitchen. Matt stood in front of the food dispenser, that Gramps insistent on called a ‘replicator’ because of Star Trek and punched in the code for two hot chocolates with whipped cream and cinnamon. The dispenser was voice activated, but Gramps had switched that feature off because of his habit of talking to himself in the shop; there’d been a bit of a mess with oranges and lemons when Gramps was sorting gemstones that nobody wanted to repeat.

Matt returned and thought Gramps had fallen asleep, with a disappointed sigh he put the cups down.

“Just resting my eyes lad. Get yourself comfy and we’ll begin.”

Matt sat in the armchair next to Gramps and blew on his hot chocolate. Gramps wrapped his fingers around his mug and took a slow breath.

“I was about your age when the carnival came to town. It set up in the fields on the edge of the woods near the old toll bridge. We were all so excited, it was the only thing anyone talked about at school, there had never been a carnival come to Storybrooke before, at least not that any of us kids could remember. The posters announced that the gates would open on Friday night…

_Storybrooke, many years ago._

“Come on Mom! Hurry up!”

Emma laughed at her already hyperactive son, if he was this bad before they left the house what would he be like once he got some candy floss into him?

“Take it easy, kid. The carnival isn’t going anywhere.”

Henry got himself tangled up as he tried to pull on his coat and scarf while bending down to shove his feet into his sneakers. Even as he stumbled into the wall he managed to give her a frustrated look.

“But, we have to be there when it opens. I don’t want to miss anything.”

Emma took him by the shoulders and managed to still him long enough to free his scarf from the sleeve of his coat.

“Henry, it doesn’t open until seven. It’s only half past six. We’ve got plenty of time.”

“Yeah, but we still have to pick Dad up from work.”

“Which is on the way, we won’t be late.”

The sidewalks were crowded with families heading towards the carnival. Emma had to break suddenly when the Zimmer kids ran across the road. She pipped the horn at them and grumbled under her breath; “Looks like I’ve found my volunteers for Monday’s road safety talk.”

She caught Henry’s fist pump in the rear-view mirror. He got called on first in class a lot since he’d moved into his Grandma’s class; Emma hadn’t planned to drag him up front and help with the dos and don’ts of crossing the road, at least now he would be trying to hide under his desk.

Neal was waiting for them outside the newspaper office, blowing on his hands and bouncing on his toes. He reached for the door handle of the Bug before Emma had reached a full stop. She rolled her eyes as he dove into the front seat.

“Steady on! This isn’t a getaway car.”

He leaned across and kissed her cheek as he whispered; “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

She shot him a look that screamed ‘Shut the hell up’, they’d not told Henry about their less than lawful past yet. She needn’t have worried Henry was too busy bouncing in his seat to have noticed anything.

“Come on! Step on the gas. Let’s go, go, go!”

Emma and Neal both twisted in their seats to give him a parent look. Henry shrugged his shoulders and grinned; “Please?”

Neal shrugged, “At least he didn’t ask you to put the siren on.”

Emma chuckled and pulled away from the curb. When they got to the carnival they found a parking space next to a familiar black Cadillac.

“Grandpops is here already!”

Henry pushed the seat forward nearly tipping his dad from the car as he raced to hug the figure leaning against the bumper of the caddy.

“Hello Henry. Bit excited, are we?”

“Yeah! Will you go on the rides with me Grandpops?”

“I think I can manage one or two,” – Gold looked over Henry’s head and grinned at his son and daughter-in-law, - “I’ve had a sneaky look, there are chair swings.”

Neal looked at Emma with a sappy smile; “Ems, my darling how long has it been since we took a twirl?”

Sighing dramatically Emma replied; “It’s been years, my love.”

Henry groaned and took his Grandpops’ hand; “Come on their being soppy again.”

Gold took his hand and smiled; “It’s a good thing that your parents love each other and can express it, laddie.”

“Oh, I know that, but I don’t have to watch it, do I?”

Gold glanced over his shoulder to see Neal and Emma cuddled together exchanging Eskimo kisses; “Aye, I see your point. Come on let’s get a space near the front and they can catch up.”

-x-x-x-

“Why did you call your Gramps ‘Grandpops’?”

Henry smiled as he finished the dregs of his hot chocolate; “My dad Neal called his dad Pops, so it made perfect sense to my young mind to call him Grandpops.”

Matt considered this logic for a moment and nodded as he decided that it was acceptable.

“Was Grandma Belle not with you that night?”

“Ah, we hadn’t met her yet. Gold and Belle would have their very first meeting later that night at the carnival, of course we didn’t know that she was Belle when we first saw her.”


	2. Chapter 2

_Many years ago_

Henry was jiggling with impatience at the closed gates of the carnival. Gold’s own normally reserved nature melted as he began mimicking his grandson by shuffling from foot to foot.

“Are you excited too Grandpops?”

“Aye laddie, been a long time since I’ve been to a carnival.”

An awed ooh went up from the crowd as the gates opened. For a moment nothing happened and then performers spilled out; clowns, jugglers, acrobats and firebreathers. 

“I want to learn to do that!”

Gold had no doubt what Henry was talking about, he’d not been able to take his eyes off the firebreather. He made a mental note to have a serious talk with his grandson about not trying that for himself, but said; “Maybe we can find you a teacher.”

-x-x-x-

“Wow! Did you learn to fire breathe Gramps?”  
Henry smiled at Matt’s interruption; “I did, lad, not done it for years, but I used to be quite good.”

-x-x-x-

Gold snarled as one of the clowns capered close to them. Behind the garish paint the man’s eyes flickered with understanding and he made a little bow before dancing away. Henry didn’t notice, he was too busy dragging Gold forward as the performers led the way into the carnival. The crowd of townsfolk stayed close together for a moment, confused by the lack of lights inside. With a masterful display of showmanship, the carnival burst into life just before the crowd became too nervous. Music and twinkling lights erupted from all sides and parents were tugged in all directions by eager youngsters while teenagers sloped off to explore on their own. 

Neal and Emma had finally caught up with them. Neal ruffled Henry’s hair; “Shall we take a look around then decide what to go on first?”

“I want to go on everything. Twice!”

His parents laughed at him; “We’ll see kid. Which way first?”

Henry raced off with Neal following at his heels, leaving Gold and Emma to trail along behind. Casually Gold said; “He wants to learn fire breathing.”

Emma made a choked sound; “Oh hell no! He’s ten. And before you think about getting him an instructor for his birthday remember that we live in one of your properties.”

Gold chuckled and let the matter rest for now. He didn’t think ten was too young to start fire breathing, but what did he know? He’d have a word with one of the performers later to get better informed. 

“I’ll try and steer him towards juggling, that’s got to be safer to learn from YouTube.”

Emma laughed, “Yeah, that sounds better, thanks.”

Gold was happy to watch and wait as his family went on the Twister; it was the one ride he knew from painful experience that would make him hurl his guts up, and he didn’t think that the twenty years since he’d last rode one would have changed that.

The Dodge ‘ems were a different matter. The operator cast a wary glance at Gold’s cane, but waved him and Henry to a car without comment. Gold let Henry drive for the most part, only taking the wheel when the opportunity to slam into Emma and Neal presented itself. Henry was laughing with delight when they staggered from the ride; “We whooped you guys!”

“You sure did, kid,” – Emma raised an eyebrow at Gold, - “I should ticket you for dangerous driving.”

He waved a dismissive hand; “Rules of the road don’t apply for Bumper Cars Sheriff.”

Henry’s joy faded when they discovered he was too short for the roller coaster. Gold talked Emma and Neal into riding it anyway.  
“Go on the Chair Swings afterwards, relive your first date without us around. We’ll catch up with you in a bit.”

Both of the took a moment to check Henry was okay with this plan, and relaxed as he nodded and said; “Go on, Grandpops and me will be fine.”

Gold had spotted something on their tour of the carnival that he thought would cheer Henry up. As they headed away from the roller coaster Henry aimed a kick at a discarded popcorn box.

“I hate being short.”

Gold stepped over the scattered kernels with a small sigh. He understood Henry’s sentiment; it had been four and a bit decades ago but he remembered the pain of being the shortest kid in the schoolyard.

“You’re due a growth spurt, laddie. I reckon you’ll end up taller than your Dad once you’re grown.”

“You think?”

“Of course. Your dad is taller than me, stands to reason they you’ll be taller than both of us.”

“I don’t think it works that way Grandpops.”

Gold knew it didn’t, but he’d still lay good money that Henry would top Neal and him before he was fifteen. Thinking about it Henry would probably be taller than him by the time he was thirteen and he’d have to suffer a few years of Neal smirking before Henry was finally the tallest Gold man. 

Their walk had taken them to the far edge of the carnival, away from the larger rides to the smaller sideshows. The painted advertising in the style of Fred G Johnson had caught Gold’s attention when they walked by this area before with Emma and Neal. On closer inspection he was surprised to see a few of the banners might actually be original Johnson’s, but his antique indulgence would have to wait for another time, he had a ten-year-old grandson to cheer up.

Henry was closely watching one of his school friends being dragged away from the tent by his mother.

“No Joel! Not a chance. You’ll have nightmares!”

“Mom!”

Henry waited until the moaning Joel and his mother were out of earshot; “Cabinet of Curiosities, hey Grandpops? Mom might think it’s too scary for me.”

Gold had considered that, but he knew Henry read Stephen King and HP Lovecraft without nightmares, so he figured his grandson was made of sterner stuff than his daughter-in-law suspected.

“What do you think Henry?”

Henry sucked his teeth and gave the tent a once over before replying; “You know most of this stuff is fake, right? If we go in there you’re not going to melt down about shoddy taxidermy, are you?”

He held his hand up in a solemn manner; “I swear I will not go nuclear, but I reserve the right to huff and make snarky comments.”

“Fair enough. Come on then.”

Gold paid the four dollars entrance fee for the two of them and they made their way into the tent. The first exhibits were much as they had been expecting; shaky film on a loop showing Bigfoot displayed with an improbably sized plaster cast foot print; photos of giants and dwarfs with newspaper articles that might have been real, but were framed in such a way as to hide the headers and footers of the pages. The further into the maze-like interior they went the more curious the curiosities became. Gold was impressed with the mermaid; although he could see the stitching that showed it for the clever work of the taxidermist’s art, he had to admit he wasn’t certain what animals had been sewn together.

He was ready to hurry Henry through the Chamber of Horrors section, which sported jars of Doctor Moreau’s failed experiments in murky coloured liquid, but Henry was intrigued as only a ten-year-old could be almost pressing his nose to the glass of the large specimen jar holding a piglet with a near human face.

The section containing the ‘near-life’ exhibits made Gold jump out of his skin until Henry pointed out the animatronics. Once he was aware of it the sinuous writhing of the snake-armed lady did have a set pattern, and the snapping of lobster-boy’s clawed hands wasn’t as frightening. Gold kicked himself because the unblinking eyes should have made the nature of these displays clear, but he’d missed that in the flickering light. He chose to blame his old eyes and followed Henry to the next exhibit, which as it turned out was alive.

The man with the twisted arm and hunchback grinned at them.

“Hello travellers. Have you enjoyed the offerings of our cabinet of curios?”

Henry gave a one shouldered shrug; “They were pretty cool.”

This was high praise indeed from a kid, and the attendant reacted as if Henry had written a sonnet lauding the merits of the sideshow.

“Why thank you, kind sir, I can tell that you are a young man who appreciates the stranger things in life. What would you say if I were to offer you the chance to see something truly unusual, a sight that we reserve only for the connoisseurs of the other worldly?”

Gold was proud that Henry maintained a face of polite indifference, his grandson wasn’t a fool to be taken in by a colourful sales pitch, but he did spot Henry’s tell – the slight shift of his weight and twitch of his fingers.

“My grandfather and I might be interested, but it would have to be a rare wonder indeed.”

Gold bit the inside of his check so as not to grin and spoil the air of grown-up that Henry had spun with his mature choice of words. The attendant twitched as he realised that the punters in front of him were no easy marks. There was a subtle shift in his tone as he beckoned them closer.

“We have one live exhibit, apart from yours truly, a monstrous beast from another time. Tell me young sir have you heard of a cockatrice?” 

Henry nodded; “Part rooster, part snake, from an egg laid by a cockerel hatched under a toad; like a basilisk, but a cockatrice has wings. Yeah I’ve heard of it.”

“Young sir, you amaze me with your knowledge, not many are so well versed in the bestiaries of old,” -with a flourish of his stunted arm the man waved at the roped off curtain behind him, - “We are lucky to have, at great risk, a living example of such a creature, which you and your grandfather can see for yourselves for the small fee of ten dollars.”

Henry’s eyes narrowed; “Ten dollars each?”

The man laughed and glanced at Gold, “Oh he doesn’t miss a trick this one. Yes, young sir, ten American dollars each. What say you?”

Henry looked up at Gold and waited to see what he would say. Gold took a moment to consider for the look of the thing, but he’d already decided they would see the extra show. Henry might not be able to talk with his school friends about the thrills of the roller coaster come Monday morning, but judging by the way Joel’s mother had dragged him away from the curious tent Henry would be the only one who could tell of what was inside. Gold wasn’t going to deny him any of the joy of telling this tale. He pulled out his wallet and took two ten dollar bills from inside.

“We shall see the beast for ourselves.”

The man took the money and vanished it with a flourish, “This way gentlemen,” – he pulled the curtain back and ushered them inside…

-x-x-x-

“Gramps, when do you and Great-great-grandpa Gold meet Belle?”

“We were just about to. She was behind the curtain.”

Matt stared at him in disbelief; “Woah so you paid ten bucks a piece and there wasn’t even a real monster behind the curtain?”

Henry chuckled; “I didn’t say that. Shall we get something to eat and I’ll tell you what we saw?”

Matt jumped up; “Can we go to Ruby’s for burgers?”

Storybrooke’s diner might have changed its name in the past fifty years, but it still served the best burgers in the state. Belle had loved the place under the name of Granny’s and it seemed right to Henry that he told the tale of her first visit while in the familiar building.


	3. Chapter 3

Ruby’s was the oldest diner in the state of Maine and had the plaque to prove it. The inside had been updated over the years, but the changes were mainly behind the scenes; solar panels powered energy saving light bulbs, the kitchen stove had been replaced by food dispensers, and the juke box had been converted to digital files long ago. For all the changes underneath the diner had retained the same look; same booths and tables, same counter and even the same cash register, although that housed the credit chip reader rather than notes and coins these days. 

Matt held the door for Henry, and they made their way to what had been known as ‘Gold’s Booth’ for decades. One of Ruby’s daughters bustled over to take their order. 

“Afternoon Mister Cassidy, Matt.”

Henry took a moment and said hesitantly; “Hello Annie.”

“Rosa.”

Matt and Rosa corrected him at the same time, he dropped his head with a sigh before smiling apologetically at the grinning waitress.

“I’m sorry Rosa.”

“No worries Mister Cassidy, you’ve never been able to tell me and my sister apart.”

“I know, but a fifty-fifty chance and every time I get it wrong. Good job I don’t gamble.”

This was a well-worn conversation. They’d been having it since Rosa and Annie were little, and they must be in their thirties now. 

“You guys wanting the usual?”

“Yes, please Rosa.”

Their food arrived in no time at all, and Matt took a huge bite out of his burger and had barely swallowed before asking Henry to continue with the story.

Henry took a breath; “Okay, where were we? Ah, yes Grandpops and I had just walked through the curtain…

-x-x-x- 

The first thing that hit them was the smell of mouldering straw, Gold was certain the only reason they hadn’t noticed it before was because of the scent of fried food that pervaded the air of the carnival. The lighting was low and Gold held tight to Henry’s hand so he didn’t stumble. In the gloom something leathery slithered, Henry gave a little jump, but bravely kept moving forward. Either Gold’s eyes were getting used to the dark, or the light level was slowly being increased. He could make out the bars of a cage now, the cynical part of him braced for a jump scare, someone was going to rattle those bars in a moment and get them both to scream. 

The scare he expected didn’t come, but his heart jolted in his chest all the same. Behind the bars of the cage a creature rose from the straw to peer at them. Gold was transfixed by eyes of deepest sapphire, for a brief moment he recalled the cockatrices shared the ability to turn people to stone with a glance with their cousins the basilisk. He took in a shuddering breath as Henry whispered; “Wow, this is so much better than a roller coaster.”

He squeezed his grandson’s hand and finally took a real look at the creature before them. Rich chestnut feathers crowned the head and upper body melding seamlessly into golden scales around the legs. The creature shifted and Gold saw the snake-like tail was also covered with golden scales. A metallic rattle reached his ears and he saw the heavy chain that bound the wings. He looked back up to those sapphire eyes and saw the sadness of a prisoner. When a taloned claw caught the bars of the cage Gold stepped forward his own hand extended, the need to touch, to offer comfort overwhelming his self-preservation instinct. 

A wooden staff landed gently on his wrist.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, sir. That beak is wicked sharp and Belle’ll not think twice about snapping your fingers clean off.”

-x-x-x-

“Wait a minute, Gramps. Belle? The cockatrice was called Belle? Like Great-Great-Grandma Belle?”

Henry sipped on his iced tea and nodded; “Yep, Belle was the cockatrice.”

Matt frowned at him; “You are joking me.”

“Nope, honest truth.”

Matt slumped back against the seat and folded his arms over his chest. Henry bit his lip, his grandson looked so like his mother when he did this.

“So, you are telling me that not only did you see a real cockatrice when you were my age, but that Great-Great-Grandfather Gold married it? He married a giant chicken snake beast? Really?”

Henry nodded seriously; “Well, Belle wasn’t a cockatrice anymore by the time they got married, that would have been really odd.”  
Matt smirked. Gramps was a fantastic storyteller, everyone knew that he’d written the ‘Once Upon a Wish’ books. Sure, the author’s name was Isaac Heller, but that was just Gramps pen name. Sometimes Gramps would make up stories about the antiques in the pawnshop, like the time he’d made up a story about the creepy puppets, or that one about the snow globe really being a town that was trapped in there by a wicked king. They were always really good, but the fun bit was to work out which bits were true and which bits were made up. Matt leaned forward and nodded; “Okay Gramps, Grandma Belle was a cockatrice, but how did she turn into a woman?”

Henry cocked an eyebrow; “Oh so you believe me, do you?”

Matt gave an easy shrug; “I don’t know, I’ve not heard all the story yet.”

Henry chuckled; “Well, I best get on and finish telling it then,” – his eyes twinkled as he paused, - “But first let’s order some dessert.”

Matt managed to sigh and smile as he reached for the menu. They might always order the same main course, but dessert was always different and had to be carefully considered.

-x-x-x-

Gold snarled as the hunchback rapped the staff against the bars of the cage making the cockatrice, Belle, shrink back in fear. The trembling of her feathers suggested that this treatment was a regular feature of her life, and the sight of her cowering at the back of her cell made Gold’s blood boil. He raised his cane and used it to push the staff away from the bars. 

“Please desist from such cruelty in front of my grandson.”

He was aware that the hard tone of his voice made Henry drag his eyes away from Belle and throw him a worried look, but Gold’s focus was on their guide who currently wasn’t sure how to respond to him. After a brief pause he opted for remain their friendly guide.

“Not offence, good sirs, but she can be a dangerous beast, best to always be careful around her. I should have warned you before we came in here, but to be honest most folks are scared witless of her. I knew you two were true admirers of the strange and freakish.”

Belle let out a hiss at his words, which only confirmed what Gold had seen in her eyes, she was an intelligent being, not the beast she was currently treated as. Gold looked at her and saw the plea for freedom in her blue eyes, and he made a decision; she would not be spending another night in this filthy cage.

“Can I take a picture?”

Of course, before Gold could put his plan into motion he needed to get Henry safely back with his parents. Their guide stepped in front of the cage shaking his head; “Oh no, no pictures can be taken, young sir.”

Gold spotted the guilty look on Henry’s face as he tucked his phone away in his pocket. Had the laddie already taken a picture? It was possible, Gold knew first-hand how fast Henry was with the camera feature, there were several embarrassing family moments caught in pixel form to prove it.

“Come on Henry. We best meet up with your parents now.”

Their guide slipped into a practised spiel encouraging them to spread the word of the sideshow to their friends and family, and to bring back those brave enough to face the beast. As they stepped out of the tent Gold smirked to himself, the good citizens of Storybrooke were still giving the Cabinet of Curiosities a wide berth, which would make what he had planned much easier.


	4. Chapter 4

Emma and Neal weren’t surprised that Gold was calling it a night. He’d never been comfortable around crowds, and he last longer than either of them had expected.

“We’ll see you in Sunday for dinner, Pops?”

Gold gave Henry a hug and nodded at his son; “Of course, Henry and I are making shortbread.”

With a final wave he strolled towards the carpark. Once he was deep within the crowd and sure he was out of his family’s sight he ducked along the gap between the Ghost Train and the Tea Cup ride. He noticed people rapidly stepping out of his way and realised that his face was set in a determined scowl, people probably thought he was on the war-path for rent. Once the Cabinet of Curiosities was in sight Gold paused and pulled Henry’s cell phone from his pocket. He felt a little guilty for pick-pocketing his grandson, but he would make it up to him on Sunday. It took him a moment to open the gallery feature, this smart phone was much more complicated than his, but he got there.

“Oh, Henry you wonderful sneaky boy.”

Henry had taken a photo of Belle, and it was just the proof that Gold needed.

-x-x-x-

“Can I see the photo?”

Henry had thought Matt would ask this and was already opening the Cloud on his cell. The photo was tucked away in a folder marked ‘Old Gold’, a nod to his Grandpops, and secured so the pictures within didn’t automatically project into the air. Matt raised an eyebrow as Henry handed him the cell, but his eyes widened in surprise when he looked at the picture.

“Woah. This isn’t a manip?”

“Nope, that is the first picture I took of Belle.”

Henry understood Matt’s doubts, he’d briefly thought the same when he first saw the photo. Only briefly because for all of Grandpops’ varied skills Photoshop had never been one of them, anything techy and he was lost; the sulking frustration that had ensued when Gold finally had to update his flip-phone was the stuff of family legend.

Matt’s nose was practically touching the screen as he examined the photo. Henry remembered it clearly after all of these years; the image of the cockatrice superimposed with the twisted body of a beautiful woman, her arms bent behind her to follow the line of the creature’s wings, her neck push forward to fit into the cockerel’s head, and her legs contorted into a pose that would make a dancer cringe.

“The camera saw through the curse, you see Matt, it showed the woman beneath the beast.”

“But how did Grandpa Gold know what she was before he saw the photo?”

“Ah, well, Grandpops always had an eye for the unusual. Now, I only found out about what happened next afterwards, but from what I was told it went something like this…”

-x-x-x-

Gold strolled past the ticket seller with an air of confidence that brooked no argument. From the corner of his eye he caught the moment the man decided he was too much trouble to try and stop. Weaving through the curiosities took him no time at all as he wasn’t stopping to look. The hunchback was shocked to see him and couldn’t move quickly enough to stop him pushing through the curtain into the room that housed Belle. His hand wrapped around the bars of her cage and he looked directly into those amazing blue eyes again.

“I’ve come to get up out of here, okay?”

She nodded, and Gold shifted his features back into a superior sneer just as her jailor bustled in.

“You can’t just walk in here!”

Gold turned on the ball of his foot and glared at the man; “I can, and I have. I’ve come to offer you a deal.”

That brought the man up short, his eyes narrowed with greed and Gold knew that the battle was half won already; “What manner of deal?”

“I’m going to buy the cockatrice.”

“Oh, are you now?”

Gold tilted his head and let a small smile tug at his lips, “Of course, I could have you charged by the Sheriff for not having a license for a dangerous animal, for not filling the correct paperwork to bring said animal into town, and for animal cruelty. You’d end up paying a crippling fine and possibly facing jail time, and then I would claim the animal without paying you a single cent, or…”

The look of growing panic on the man’s face was a delight.

“What’s your offer?”

Gold named a sum and glared at the man daring him to try and barter. Both of them knew Gold held all of the cards here, and the man understood that pissing him off would only cause further problems.

“Fine, but I want the money before you take her,” – Gold raised an eyebrow and the man sagged, - “Okay! Just get her out of here.”

Gold caught the keys the man threw at him and waved him away. He watched until the hunchback had left the room before turning to Belle.

“Are you ready to leave?”

-x-x-x-

“How did Grandpa get Belle out of the carnival without anyone seeing them?”

Henry chuckled; “I have no idea, Matt, but they did it somehow because they ended up back at the pawnshop, which is where we should be heading back to.”

He settled the bill with Rosa and they stepped out on to the street. As they strolled along Main Street Henry considered how much of the next part of the story to tell his grandson. Matt was mature for his age, but that was no reason to give him nightmares when a small tweaking of the facts would allow the story to be told without the horror. Neither Gold nor Belle would object to him editing their story, it was in keeping with tradition after all, he’d been nearly twenty before they had told him the truth of the matter.

He gave Matt the keys to open the pawnshop and smiled as he took the small task with all the serious pride of a kid. Lucy had been on at him for years to change the locks to bio-chips, but nobody would dare break into the pawnshop and there was something comfortingly familiar about the metal keys.

Matt kept glancing at the clock as Henry settled in his chair, there was only half an hour before Lucy would arrive to take him to soccer practice, good thing Henry had decided on the abridged version of events.

“Now, I said I didn’t know how Grandpops got Belle back here without anyone seeing her, but I know that they must have walked because the Caddy was still in the parking lot when we left the fair. My Dad drove it home that night, it wasn’t unusual because Grandpops would often choose to walk. Back in those days the wood came right up to where Singh and Daughters Sweetshop is now, and with so many people at the carnival there wouldn’t have been many folks around to see them once they got to the streets.”

Matt nodded; “Yeah, that makes sense, I mean Grandma Belle wouldn’t be comfortable in the Caddy with her wings and tail, and I bet after being in that grotty cage for ages she would have wanted to stretch.”

Henry nodded in agreement, smiling to himself at the change in Matt’s attitude, not that long ago he’d doubted the story, but now he was invested.

“Well from what I was told what happened next went like this…”

-x-x-x-

Gold’s leg was throbbing by the time they reached the pawnshop, he really wasn’t up to tromping through the woods anymore. Belle was happy to be led inside, and he managed not to trap her tail in the door as he closed it, but the sound of the lock clicking into place caused her to whip round, panic shining in her sapphire eyes. Gold winced at the sound of a breaking crockery and cussed himself as a fool for not thinking that she would react badly to being locked in.

“I’m sorry, I can open it again. Hang on.”

His fumbling with the keys was stopped by the gentle brush of feathers against his arm. Belle had reached for him with her wing, he dropped the keys and gently ran his free hand over her feathers, pulling back when she shivered.

“I’m sorry, I should have presumed you’d be okay with being touch. You stopped me unlocking the door, does that mean you want it to stay locked?”

Belle gave him a clear nod.

“Okay then, but we can open it anytime you want.”

She tilted her head to one side, and then turned around very carefully and tapped the cash register with her claw. Gold frowned as she looked over her shoulder at him. Clearly, she was trying to make him understand something, but he wasn’t sure what. He moved around the shop, mindful of her tail and not to crowd her, until he was standing by her side.

“I don’t understand.”

The tip of her wing brushed his chest, then her claw tapped the register again and finally her wing pointed to herself.

“Me, money, you? Oh, you think I bought you. No, no, I bought your freedom. You can go wherever you like now. I only brought you here because I wasn’t sure what else to do. I didn’t really think this through, did I?”

Gold scrubbed his hands through his hair and tried to make himself clear; “When I looked at you I wanted to help you, to get you out of that awful place,” – he chuckled more at himself, - “I thought you might be under a curse…”

Belle chirped and nodded frantically. 

“You are under a curse?”

She gave another rapid nod.

“Okay. Do you know how to break it?”

Belle’s eyes dropped to the floor and she nodded shyly. Gold twisted his fingers together, he knew a fair bit about curses, but most of his magical knowledge extended to protective charms and the occasional hex, a full transformation curse was beyond him.

“Can you tell me what needs to be done?”

This was going to be the strangest game of charades ever, but Gold was willing to do whatever it took to free Belle. She ruffled her feathers and looked at him, it took him a long moment to realize that her gaze was focused on his mouth.

“Oh, erm, right, a kiss breaks the curse?”

Belle gave him another shy nod. Gold loosened his tie, he’d not thought it would be that simple.

“Well, erm, do you have a partner out there? A husband, a wife? I could find them for you…”

Belle rolled her eyes at him and lunged forward. It should have felt strange being kissed by a creature with a beak, but all Gold felt was the softness of warm lips and a tingle of magic.

-x-x-x-

“Woah! Hang on a minute! A kiss broke the curse?”

Henry nodded, “Yep, a simple kiss, for who would ever kiss a beast? Belle shed her cursed skin and all that was left was that one clawed foot.”

Matt frowned at him and folded his arms across his chest; “You made it a kiss because the truth is gross, isn’t it?”

“What makes you think that?”

“That foot isn’t an empty skin like when my snake sheds, that was cut off. So, I think there is more to breaking Grandma Belle’s curse than you are telling me.”

Henry looked him right in the eye and lied; “Nope, that’s all there is to the story. One kiss and the cursed skin peeled right off, don’t know how the foot got left behind, but it did. Must be magic.”

“Yeah, Gramps, magic.”

Matt didn’t sound convinced, but was distracted by the sound of the front door opening and his mother’s voice.

“Matt! Dad! You back there?”

Once Matt and Lucy had left the shop for soccer practise Henry picked up the box containing Belle’s severed foot and sat down with a sigh. He’d spun a good ending for Matt, a real fairy tale, true love’s kiss breaks the curse, and everyone lives happily ever after. That’s how it should have happened, but real life was never so simple or kind. Henry closed his eyes and remembered how events had really happened.


End file.
